BERLIN, April 17 (Reuters) – Germany has called on European Union and NATO countries to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense as quickly as possible, officials from those countries said on Wednesday, as Russia relentlessly shells Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have contacted many countries to ask them to quickly provide additional defense assets to Kyiv, as part of this initiative which will be discussed this week at of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.
Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of ammunition and in particular anti-aircraft missiles due to the blocking of aid from the United States by the Republicans, the majority in the House of Representatives, and the inability of the EU to hold its commitments in this area.
Taking advantage of this situation, Russia has increased its strikes against Ukrainian cities, the latest having left at least 13 dead on Wednesday in Chernihiv, in the north of the country, which prompted President Volodimir Zelensky to launch a new call for ugly.
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The German initiative aims to convince Ukraine’s allies to immediately provide additional air defense assets, a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry said at a press briefing.
“Because we see that the threats to Ukraine are evolving. (…) Russia is increasingly using mass-produced glide bombs, which can be dropped at great distances from the Ukrainian border,” he said. he said.
According to the spokesperson, several countries have already expressed their intention to participate in this Berlin initiative.
Germany, the second largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, recently promised Kyiv an American-made Patriot air defense system, as well as missiles to power it.
Germany is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and recently promised Ukraine a Patriot air defense system and American-made air defense missiles.
“These systems must be delivered without delay,” stressed a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry, according to which NATO members and other countries have undertaken to reassess the quantity of weapons that they can draw on their stocks. (Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Alexander Ratz, French version Tangi Salaün)
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